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| Wednesday,
September 12, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Global
markets rocked by US crisis
Imports of
300 items dip 17% JVG case
hearing adjourned Bank of
Punjab to accept LIC premium GM to
acquire Bupyeong plant Bengal
CM to visit Japan on September 15 |
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It’s
the bosses, stupid
After
Taj, it’s Konark
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Global markets rocked by US crisis
New York, September 11 Treasuries rose by almost a full point before paring gains while the dollar initially sank around half a cent against the euro before paring losses on safe haven flows. Traders said dealings froze in many markets. Several brokers, including Cantor Fitzgerald, are based in the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. "There are no prices. There is no trade," said one emerging markets trader in New York. "All the brokers are downtown in the Trade Center, so there are no prices." "Investors will be wondering if this the start of a terrorist campaign on the U.S. aimed at high profile institutions," said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategist at Standard Life Investments in London. Dealings in many other asset markets were thin. "No one is going to be focused trading mortgages with what's happening," David Montano, mortgage strategist at Credit Suisse First Boston said. Stocks to tumble
Stocks are expected to tumble after a delayed opening on Tuesday in the wake of news that two planes had crashed into the New York World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. "When the market opens, it will open down a lot," said Stanley Nabi, a Managing Director at Credit Suisse First Boston, which oversees $110 billion. "I think it will open down a couple hundred points on the Dow at least. This is absolutely unbelievable." A Nasdaq spokeswoman said the market opening would be delayed until 10 a.m. (14 GMT). New York Stock Exchange officials said the opening would be delayed indefinitely beyond its scheduled time of 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT). Shortly before that announcement, the NYSE said the market would open on time.
UK stocks plunge
LONDON: The London stock market tumbled 4 per cent on Tuesday as stunned investors sold off shares after two planes hit New York's World Trade Center and eye witnesses reported a fire at the U.S. Pentagon. London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares slumped more than 210 points or 4.2 per cent to around 4,824 after dramatic pictures of a burning World Trade Center and columns rising over Washington flashed into dealing rooms. Oil prices surged on fears that the attacks could spell an escalation of the Middle East conflict, potentially sparking U.S. retaliation. "People are linking this to the Middle East. In this situation people are buying the oils and selling everything else, especially stocks with a U.S. exposure and the insurers and banks," said a trader. By 1355 GMT the FTSE 100 had stabilised to be 185 points down at around 4,835. The index was hovering just above 5,000 points at 1340 GMT, just before news that the Pentagon and White House were being evacuated.
Reuters
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Imports of 300 items dip 17% New Delhi, September 11 The government today released figures showing that import of 300 sensitive items have in fact declined by as much as 17 per cent during April to July. The 300 items are categorised under 14 different commodity groups, which include poultry meat, milk and milk products, fruits and vegetables and automobile among others. During the period , total import of these items were valued at Rs 3,034 crore — down by 17 per cent as compared to Rs 3,663 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. However, there has been significant increase in the imports of spices, cotton and silk, automobile and poultry. While imports of spices have increased to Rs 8,877.77 crore from Rs 5,834.47 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year, imports of automobile were valued at Rs 3,280 crore as compared to Rs 2,743.20 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. Imports of cotton and silk during the period has increased Rs 96,201.74 lakh— up from Rs 77,371.13 lakh during the same period last year. The DGFT said silk imports have taken place mainly from China and Chile, cotton has been imported from as many as 52 countries. These imports, the DGFT said, are likely to strengthen India’s export competitiveness in the textile sector. The biggest increase in imports have taken place in poultry with the value of imports increasing from a meagre Rs 1.01 lakh to a Rs 16.95 lakh during this year. Significantly, there has been a considerable decline in the imports of milk and milk products during the first four months of the current fiscal after the dismantling of the QR regime. Milk and milk products, divided under 22 different tariff lines, decreased to Rs 526.94 lakh against Rs 2,810.86 lakh during the same period of the previous year. In the fruits and vegetables segment, even though there is a sharp decline at the broad-group level from Rs 54,315.97 lakh to Rs 19,674.91 lakh, there has been a significant increase in respect of apples from Rs 11 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Similarly foodgrains also have shown a
significant decline in imports in the first four months of the post QR regime. Foodgrains imports during the this period has been valued at Rs 136.83 lakh as compared to Rs 1,606.08 lakh in the previous year. In the edible oil segment, the imports have declined to Rs 2,130 crore last year to Rs 1,677 crore for the corresponding period this
year. However, while imports of refined edible oils has gone down substantially that of crude palm oil and crude soya bean oil has gone up.
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JVG case hearing adjourned Ludhiana, September 11 As many as 19 investors of Ludhiana, had claimed to have invested about Rs 28, 23, 690 in the four different companies of the JVG group namely, JVG Finance Ltd, JVG Securities Ltd, JVG Investments and JVG Leasing. The investors had alleged that the companies had assured handsome return in the shape of heavy interest but after collecting the hefty amounts from them the company did not pay anything to investors. After the closure of the company’s offices at Ludhiana in 1998, the investors had registered against the JVG Group of companies on March 7, 1998 under section 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code at Division No. 6 Police Station for cheating them. The four accused has been facing charges in the case are Tripat Singh Bhan, Devinder, Amandeep Singh and Vikas Sharma are facing charges while the other co-accused who have been declared as proclaimed offenders in the case are Vijay Kumar Sharma, Devinder Kumar and Pawan Kumar and M.S. Nair all residents of Delhi and M.C. Joshi a resident of Indra Nagar in Uttar Pardesh.
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Rupee hits yet another record low Mumbai, September 11 In slightly nervous trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market here this morning, the rupee was quoted at a fresh all-time low of Rs 47.39/40 per dollar in late morning deals, sharply lower from Monday’s close of Rs 47.3450/3550. The rupee opened at Rs 47.36/37. Sustained heavy dollar demand continued to take
toll on the rupee value even as dollar supplies dwindled, dealers said. India’s forex reserves stood at a record peak of $ 45.36 billion at the end of August, 2001. In cross currency trades, the Euro was quoted at Rs 42.62/64, £ at Rs 69.07/09 and Japanese Yen (100) Rs 38.96/99. The Reserve Bank of India Governor Dr Bimal Jalan, today said that the RBI is watching the rupee movement against US dollar at the Interbank forex market.
PTI
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Bank of Punjab to
accept LIC premium Chandigarh, September 11 Starting with acceptance of premium on the Internet and interactive kiosks placed its branches and bank’s e-bank centres, the bank will explore the possibility of extending the facility for payment of premiums over the telephones through the bank’s 24 hours customer care centre on the ATMs and mobile phones. According to Mr Tejbir Singh, Executive Director, Bank of Punjab, “LIC customers will simply need to walk into one of the bank’s branches or use any of the preferred channels to access their accounts, press a few buttons and their premium will be paid and received in the LIC account.” We are expecting around 1,00,000 customers to use this facility.” The customers can pay their LIC premium online through Internet Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment system and are able to view the details of their policy. |
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GM to acquire Bupyeong
plant Chandigarh, September 11 According to a high-ranking government official the US automaker has gone as far as offering to use the Bupyeong plant as a plant to produce GM models on a commissioned basis. But GM has tentatively agreed to purchase the plant as well on the condition that creditors will come up with additional financial support. More detailed plans to purchase the Bupyeong plant include the GM will operate the main plant on a trial base for the next two to three years and after the trial, the American company will decide to whether it will maintain, transfer or close the plant. GM is reportedly to retain the current 7,100 workforce at the Bupyeong plant for the time being. It is also expected that GM and creditor banks will sign a preliminary agreement on September 20. Reports had it also that GM’s top management at its head office has been reviewing the draft of the preliminary agreement. If the two parties succeed in signing the agreement, GM would make its final asset evaluation on the Korean automaker for the next two to four months before inking a final sales contract with the creditors. Government sources also confirmed that GM will purchase or acquire all domestic car plants of Daewoo located in Kunsan and Changwon and some of Daewoo’s overseas production plants and sales offices. About Daewoo’s foreign production plants, GM is expected to purchase those in Egypt, India, Vietnam and Uzbekistan. One issue that remains to be settled is whether GM will purchase a controlling 11.1 per cent stake in Daewoo Auto Sales.
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Bengal CM to visit Japan on September
15 Kolkata, September 11 This will be Bhattacharyya’s first ever visit to any foreign country. Bhattacharyya is going to Japan in his first leg of foreign visit and afterwards he has a plan to visit England and other European countries and lastly the USA. But nothing has been settled about these visits. However, Bhattacharyya wants to make his trip quite different. Unlike Basu’s, Bhattacharyya’s trip is only for seven days.
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It’s the bosses, stupid London, September 11 But the mega-managers have a splendid excuse. In the hallowed Clintonian phrase: ‘It’s the economy, stupid.’ Toshiba wouldn’t be sacking 15,000 people worldwide, or Ford planning serious international cutbacks, if the wonderful Greenspan boom hadn’t metamorphosed into a semi-bust whose contagion is spreading. Give managers excuses, good or bad, and they’ll take them. But bosses can’t have it both ways. If economic downside is responsible for their sorrows, the previous upside — rather than miracles of marketing, innovation, man management, strategic wisdom, or dynamic investment — must have lain behind much of the earlier success. Marks & Spencer’s phenomenal achievement in turning a silk purse into a sow’s ear developed against the background of keen consumer demand. BT tumbled from grace while to all intents and purposes its sector (and its virtual UK monopoly) was still generating healthy growth and profits. Hewlett-Packard was left stranded by market and technological upheaval well before the Greenspan hernia. You can measure the extent of the disaster by America’s 10 most admired companies as listed by Fortune magazine in February 2000. Three (Dell, Cisco and Intel) had their colours lowered by the high-tech slump, while Lucent dug itself into a hole even before that calamity. DIY chain Home Depot has been struggling, too, while Microsoft has been fighting the bad fight to save its threatened monopoly. The list of lagging leaders could go on and on. Europe can offer one to match. That prompts two wry and related thoughts. First, that reputations of star managements often (perhaps generally) bear insufficient relation to their actual abilities and personal achievements. Second, that, in any event, top managers in established companies have less influence on events, even within their own corporate walls, than is commonly supposed. The argument may sound strange, but it embodies a long-held (indeed, conventional) view about larger companies, let alone mega ones. Like boxers, the bigger they are, the harder they fall — because they are harder to move, motivate and, in short, manage. Size imposes a formidable need for control, at which the giants have consequently developed relative expertise. But this very success militates against progressive brilliance. The prolific routines and systems that administer, coordinate, measure, monitor, discipline and organise form barriers to much qualities such as innovation, fast reaction, flexibility, experiment and creativity. London Business School professor and strategic thinker Gary Hamel has written about `a dirty little secret’ at the heart of this corporate dilemma: ‘We haven’t the faintest idea of how to invent a strategic notion.’ To put it crudely, mega-managers often can’t see the trees for the wood. Self-imprisoned in their ivory-and-glass towers, they easily become inbred and dominated by the routines and systems. The bulk of their overpaid time is not spent with customers, still less the troops, but with each other. Discussing, arguing, jockeying (for power and pay), deciding (or failing to decide), appointing and disappointing, many head office inhabitants are far removed from the real action in the trees. That, no doubt, is how M&S failed to observe that its fabled management and marketing system had become just that: a fable. Time and again, managements fail to recognise a truth that great and good leaders such as Sir John Harvey-Jones, the resuscitator of ICI, never ignore: that people all the way down a company know its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats full well; and, moreover, know what must be done to enhance the first, eliminate the second, exploit the third, and overcome the last. Robert Heller is the author of ‘Roads to Success’ (Published in the UK by Dorling Kindersley).
The Observer
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